


Safekeeping

by pterawaters



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Cohabitation, F/M, Friendship/Love, Grief/Mourning, M/M, Moving In Together, Moving On, Polyamory, Vacation, Widower Stiles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-03
Updated: 2014-02-03
Packaged: 2018-01-11 00:36:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1166507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pterawaters/pseuds/pterawaters
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After losing his husband, Stiles moves in with his best friends, just until he gets back on his feet. As the months pass, friendship starts to look like something more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Safekeeping

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Narya](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Narya/gifts).



"It'll just be for a few weeks." Stiles pulls his suitcase into Scott and Allison's guest room and lifts it up onto the bed. "Until I get back on my feet."

That too-familiar look of extreme sympathy on his face, Scott says, "You're welcome to stay as long as you need to."

Nodding, Stiles looks at the wedding band on his left ring finger. He's not ready to take it off yet, not when he still needs to clutch the chain around his neck holding its match before he can breathe again. Stiles secretly thinks he'll never get his feet back under him, at least not to the same steady foundation they were when Derek was alive.

Stiles retires from the force for about four days before he jitters so much around the house that Allison pushes him out the front door, saying, "Jesus, Stiles. Just go beg for your job back!"

Stiles drives around for two hours before slinking into his dad's office. "Hey, Pops."

"Here to talk about how long your leave of absence will run?" The sheriff taps one pen against the blotter on his desk.

"Leave of– Dad, I quit! I specifically told you I was never coming back!"

The Sheriff rolls his eyes. "Eight am shift on Monday. Don't be late."

Stiles doesn't go with when his friends clean out the house he shared with Derek. He can't handle seeing the blood stain on the floor. As he sorts through his belongings, Stiles tells Allison, "I'll just stay until the old house sells. It's a nice place. It'll probably go quickly."

Two months after the house sells, Allison comes home late from the gym to find Stiles drunk at the kitchen table, holding a mostly-empty bottle of whiskey. Easing the bottle away, she asks, "What happened?"

Stiles shrugs. "Sort of an anniversary. Not dealing so well, I guess."

Allison brings Stiles up to his bed and puts his head in her lap, stroking Stiles' hair until he stops crying and falls asleep. She must fall asleep too, because in the morning, Allison is sleeping between Scott and Stiles, the large blanket from her and Scott's bed thrown over the three of them.

Stiles' therapist tells him he needs to do something constructive outside of work, so he starts making dinner for Scott and Allison. They come home one day to find him wearing Allison's pink apron and stirring some kind of gravy. Allison laughs and says, "Thanks, honey." She kisses Stiles on the cheek. 

Scott parrots her with a laugh, saying, "Thanks, honey," to Stiles and planting a messy, wet kiss on Stiles' cheek. 

Stiles laughs and wipes his cheek on his shoulder. "Dinner is served!"

Stiles wakes up from nightmares sometimes, Scott already there, holding him down, holding him in. He doesn't sleep unless Scott stays there, breathing the same air in the dark. More often than not, Allison is there in the morning, sleeping on Scott's other side, like she can't stand to sleep alone either.

They're watching this new Robin Hood movie on the TV when Stiles brings in the bowl of popcorn and drops down beside Allison. She says, "Thank you, dear," and goes to kiss Stiles' jaw at the same time he turns to smile at her. Allison ends up kissing Stiles' lips, and Stiles kisses back before he knows what he's doing. As soon as he does realize, Stiles draws back in horror, his eyes flicking from Allison's surprised ones to Scott's. 

Scott's surprised look morphs into rolling his eyes and then Scott leaps over Allison, grabbing Stiles' head and laying a big, wet kiss right on his lips. Stiles laughs through it and Allison chuckles, even while she's complaining, "Scott! You're crushing me!"

The next day, when Stiles hands Scott a plate full of sweet potato tacos, Scott says, "Thanks, man," and kisses Stiles on the lips again. Stiles laughs and puckers up when Allison comes over for her plate. She kisses him too. It quickly becomes a habit.

At a party Allison drags Stiles to while Scott works a night shift at the hospital, Stiles stands near a wall, nursing a beer. Allison told him she'd, "Be right back," ten minutes ago, but he sees she got waylaid by another friend on her way back.

He's just about to push away from the wall and make his way over to her, when a woman approaches him. "Hey, I don't think we've met!" She smiles at him and it makes Stiles intensely uncomfortable, even though he's sure she's just trying to be nice. Her features are a little sharp, but she has this cool neon orange streak in her hair. Maybe if they'd met in a different life, Stiles would be a little more interested in talking to her.

"Stiles," he says, conspicuously switching his drink to his left hand, where he's still wearing his ring. It's been eight months, and he still hasn't taken it off.

She doesn't seem to notice, sticking her hand out at Stiles for him to shake. "I'm Maya. I teach tumbling to the preschoolers."

"That sounds…" Stiles tries to get Allison's attention over Maya's shoulder, but she seems too engrossed in her conversation. "...adorable. I mean, Allison always comes home talking about how awful her middle schoolers are to each other. Preschoolers must be a lot more fun."

Maya's eyes finally rest on Stiles' hand for a moment. "Oh, you're Allison's husband! I knew your name started with an S, but I couldn't quite remember exactly. Stiles! It's so nice to meet you. Allison talks about you all the time."

"Really?" Stiles asks, more than a little curious how Allison talks about Scott. Sure, maybe it's none of his business, but Scott is his best friend. A little snooping is always in order when you're looking out for your best friend. "Good things, I hope!"

Maya laughs and leans in, saying in a low voice, "I'm pretty sure she thinks you hung the moon."

Stiles grins. The one constant thing in his life lately has been the way Scott and Allison feel about each other. The smile feels nice on his face, especially when he sees Allison coming closer and it widens. "Hey, there's that wife of mine!" Stiles says, holding out his arm for Allison.

She gives him a weird look, but goes with it, putting her arm around Stiles' waist and leaning into him. Just like when they cuddle on the couch watching TV, Allison feels really nice against Stiles' side. "Hi, Maya. I see you've met my … husband."

"I have," she says, changing her grip on her drink. "I was just about to hit on him, too! You certainly caught yourself a good-looking one."

Stiles blushes. Except for Derek, Stiles hasn't really heard anyone else call him good-looking before. It makes him half-regret the decision to play Allison's husband. But then he imagines letting Maya put her arm around him the way Allison has hers at his waist and Stiles feels sick. 

Stiles catches Allison smiling up at him before she pats his chest with her free hand. She says, "I've got no complaints," and Stiles feels his stomach swoop. He tries to make sure Allison's just playing along with the joke, but she's got this expression on her face that Stiles doesn't recognize. After knowing Allison for so many years and living with her the better part of one, not knowing one of Allison's expressions terrifies Stiles.

His train of thought derails when Maya coos. "Aww. You two are so sweet together. You're going to have such beautiful babies."

Allison's mouth drops open as she looks over at Stiles.

Fumbling for a second, Stiles finally says, "Well, that's a long ways off, isn't it, babe?"

Allison presses her lips together and nods vigorously. Stiles laughs and he's ducking to kiss her before he knows what he's doing. Allison allows the kiss, returning it after half a second. When Stiles pulls back, Allison smiles at him and Stiles gets this sinking feeling that he's in trouble.

He's been out on patrol for a few hours, pulling over a few morning commuters, when Stiles hears an emergency call from Allison's gym. Ambulance needed. It takes all of Stiles' willpower not to panic. By the time he gets to the gym, the ambulance has already left. He hops out of the car and finds the one coworker of Allison's that he recognizes.

"What happened? Was it Allison?"

The girl cringes.

"Oh, god! It was! Is she okay?"

"She woke up before the paramedics came," the girl offers with a shrug. "One of the new students was dicking around on the balance beam and almost crushed this little kid. Allison got between them and got kicked in the head."

"Fuck." Stiles sighs. Allison has gone through a ton of supernatural shit without so much as a scratch, and some asshole on a balance beam almost kills her. 

Stiles then remembers the day, and realizes Scott is on shift in the ER. "Shit. I gotta get to the hospital!"

He finds Scott in the doctor's lounge, head in his hands. Stiles rushes to sit next to Scott, throwing his arm over Scott's shoulders. "Scott?"

"They're doing a CAT scan," Scott says, leaning into Stiles' side. "She's probably okay. _She_ says she's okay."

"Scott," Stiles says, putting one hand on the back of Scott's neck. "Allison is a badass. She survived you in high school, didn't she?"

Scott laughs. "Yeah. I guess you're right."

Allison has a concussion, but after two days of rest, the doctors declare her perfectly healthy. During her first day back at work, Stiles and Scott work together to bake her a cake. Scott writes on the top in blue icing, "Congratulations on your head!" Stiles laughs so hard he pees a little.

When the anniversary of Derek's death comes around, Stiles takes the whole week off. He's preparing to spend his first day off alone in the house, wrapped up in blankets and playing video games until his eyes bleed, when Allison and Scott both come downstairs, suitcases in hand. "Good idea getting out while the getting's good," Stiles tells them, heading toward the pantry and the box specifically labeled, "Stiles' pity cookies."

"You're coming with us," Scott says, putting his arm around Stiles' shoulder as he hands Stiles a piece of paper. It's a printed-out boarding pass for a flight from Oakland to Cozumel, Mexico. 

Stiles chokes on his tongue. "You shouldn't have done this. I'm going to be such a wreck. I'll ruin everything."

"Stiles, we've let you live with us all year," Scott says, putting his chin on Stiles' shoulder. "Do you really think we don't want you around?"

"You're just nice like that, Scott. And I don't know, I guess I figured you guys got used to having the extra help around the house." Stiles tries to pull away, but Scott won't let him. 

"Get in in the car, Stiles," Allison says, joining the hug. She kisses his jaw. "We're taking you for a vacation in Mexico and you're going to have a nice time. End of story."

"You kind of owe us a million favors, dude." Scott grins. "Now do what the lady says."

Allison takes Stiles' hand and he lets her pull him out toward the garage. "Fine! But this doesn't count as me doing you a favor! This is like, the complete _opposite_ of me doing you guys a favor."

When they get to Mexico that evening, Stiles is surprised that they've only booked one room. "Is this a money thing? I can pay for my own room. I mean, I have all this money I've been saving for a new house and-"

"So you can lock yourself in and wallow?" Allison scoffs and takes the envelope of keys from the clerk at the hotel desk. "Yeah, I don't think so. You're staying with us."

"C'mon, dude," Scott says, throwing an arm over Stiles' shoulders, like he's been doing since they were kids, but a lot more lately. "It's gonna be fun!"

The room has one king bed. "Oh, man! They got the room wrong."

"No, they didn't," Scott says, his hands clasping Stiles' shirt as he pulls Stiles into a kiss that's a lot less thanks-for-the-sandwich-bro, and a lot more we're-gonna-fuck-now. As he lets Stiles go, Stiles spluttering and reeling from the kiss, Scott says, "If you're okay with that."

Stiles takes a good look at Scott's face and doesn't see the joke that has to be there. He looks over at Allison and she's not smiling either. She's just standing there with this hopeful and kind of scared look on her face.

Stiles feels sick when he realizes that this is _real_. This is real. He can feel it in his bones. He doesn't understand why he didn't see this coming. The past year hits him all at once and a sob bursts forth from his body before Stiles can stop it. 

"Oh, my god!" Allison exclaims as Stiles draws in a ragged breath. "Oh, god, Stiles. We didn't mean to-"

"Shit," Scott says, guiding Stiles into the room and toward the bed. Stiles sits down on the edge, his vision swimming with tears. "It's fine that you don't want this, dude. We just thought…"

"We just wanted to make you happy." Allison kneels on the floor between Stiles' knees and takes one of his hands. "Please don't cry. Oh, god."

Stiles wipes his eyes and sees the regret in the tilt of Allison's eyebrows. He looks over at Scott's resigned grimace, and Stiles feels guilty. He feels guilty not because he thinks he accidentally led them on, but because he's obviously ruined the trip Scott and Allison had planned with his stupid tears.

It's been a year, a whole fucking year, and Stiles doesn't know if he'll ever be over losing his husband. It's not like Stiles' dad ever got over losing Stiles' mom. 

The next best thing to getting over someone is moving past the lingering pain, right? Stiles thinks maybe a distraction wouldn't be so bad, but he knows that being with Allison and Scott will never be _just_ a distraction.

Stiles takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. Without opening them, he says, "This can't just be a 'what happens in Mexico stays in Mexico' thing. When we get home…"

"We don't want you to move out," Allison insists. "We've been saving up for a bigger bed."

Scott says, "I told your realtor you moved to Kentucky so she would stop trying to get you to look at new houses."

Stiles laughs and lets himself reach over, kissing Scott again. It's a pretty innocent kiss, but it lasts and lasts and Stiles feels his heart expand in his chest, like there's no longer something holding it back, keeping it small and contained. Stiles breaks away from the kiss and gives Scott a smile. "Yeah, okay."

"Okay?" Allison asks, climbing up onto the bed on the opposite side of Stiles from Scott.

Stiles opens his mouth to agree, when he catches sight of the ring still on his finger. He snaps his mouth shut and stares at his hand for a moment. Then, he uses his other hand to pull his wring off his finger. It sticks at the first knuckle. "Shit."

"You don't have to take it off." Scott says.

Shaking his head, Stiles tells Scott, "I really, _really_ do."

Stiles pulls a little bit harder, and the ring snags on his skin, trapping it against the bone of his knuckle. It aches and stings, but finally slips from his finger. Stiles lets out his breath in a relieved whoosh. Setting the ring onto the first segment of his thumb, Stiles reaches behind his neck for the clasp of the chain he's wearing. It slips through his fingers. "Fuck."

"Here," Scott says, his fingers brushing Stiles'. He sets a kiss on the nape of Stiles' neck and then undoes the chain, bringing both ends down in front of Stiles.

Stiles takes them and slides his ring onto the chain along with Derek's. He thinks about setting the chain aside, but he can't. Instead, he brings it back around his neck. "Scott?"

"I got you, Stiles," Scott says, fastening the chain again.

Allison places her hands on Stiles' face and kisses him. Stiles feels the tension in his shoulders melt away. His stomach rumbles.

Scott laughs, running his hand down Stiles' back. "C'mon. The buffet's included with the room."

Stiles stuffs himself silly. He feeds Allison strawberries and shoves cheesecake into Scott's face. It's fun and easy, and when Allison leads them out to the moonlit beach Stiles drops down into the sand with a laugh. He spends long minutes kissing Scott, and then Allison, and then looking up at the stars with his head in Scott's lap as Scott and Allison kiss.

"This is good." Stiles lets the rest of the tension in his body drain away into the still-warm sand. He thinks about Derek and for once feels like he can trust himself with his own memories. "I think he'd be okay with this."

"We'll do a proper memorial thing tomorrow," Allison says, stroking her hand through Stiles' hair. "There's this beach Cora told me their family used to vacation at. I booked us a car to go there."

Stiles puts his hand over the chain under his shirt, pressing both rings against his skin. "Yeah, let's do it. Let's go say goodbye."

That night, Stiles falls asleep between the two people on earth he loves best. They don't have sex, probably because Stiles doesn't initiate anything past kisses and lying together, listening to Scott's heartbeat and Allison's steady breaths.

After the memorial, they return to their resort, and Stiles feels emotionally exhausted, but a little freer than he did before. He tells his companions, "I'm going swimming," and treks out onto the semi-crowded beach. The water is warm and welcoming and when Stiles surfaces after dunking himself under the salty waves and letting the water rush into his ears, loud and calming at the same time, Scott and Allison are both there.

Stiles flicks water at Scott's face. Laughing, Allison tries to dunk Stiles under in retaliation for her husband. All three of them get into a water-logged wrestling match and then Allison's mouth lands hot and heavy on Stiles'. Stiles kisses her soundly and tilts his hips back when Scott embraces him from behind. 

They barely make it back to the hotel room without nudity being involved. Stiles comes in Allison's hands, Scott's dick between his thighs, and he feels happy. 

While Allison and Scott sleep wrapped up in each other, Stiles takes the chain from around his neck and stows it in a zippered pocket of his suitcase, for safekeeping. He joins his lovers in the bed and absolutely knows, for the first time in a year, that he isn't alone.

**Author's Note:**

> You can visit me [on tumblr](http://pterawaters.tumblr.com)!


End file.
